Published 6:50 am, Wednesday, November 11, 2015

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The Montgomery County War Memorial Park in downtown Conroe includes three stones dedicated to Vietnam. The Daughters of the American Revolution Conroe Chapter is seeking photos for several names listed for Vietnam Veteran Memorial Funds Wall of Faces.

The Montgomery County War Memorial Park in downtown Conroe includes three stones dedicated to Vietnam. The Daughters of the American Revolution Conroe Chapter is seeking photos for several names listed for

The Daughters of the American Revolution in Conroe is seeking the public’s help in finding photographs of local fallen heroes whose names are etched in The Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington D.C.

DAR’s Margaret Montgomery Chapter is assisting Janna Hoen, who is a volunteer with the Faces Never Forgotten program—within the same fund that built the Vietnam Wall.

Out of the 58,307 names on the Vietnam Wall, Texas has 3,419, Hoen said.

Among at least 22 of Montgomery County’s fallen, at least 12 names are remaining. Some of those local names that she said she still needs photos for include: Clifton A. Burrow of Montgomery; and Robert C. Davis, James A. Gilford, Donald Lowe, Eddie L. Miller, J.B. Spearmon, Clark K. Vickrey, and Floyd D. Webber of Conroe.

When the DAR heard about the search, through a Conroe Courier article, they said “this is what we do” and reached out to Hoen to help.

“They’ve collected (43,000) photos so far,” Sandra Yoder of the DAR said. “They are looking for military photos, high school would be nice because we can contact the school and maybe get more information… The idea is keeping our heroes alive.”

Yoder said DAR’s Vietnam group has only started the search. So far they have been browsing Classmates.com and have found one or two photos at the high schools. While they have been able to gather information about some of the names, they are having a hard time finding photos.

“Family members are encouraged to contact us if they have photos,” she said.

Yoder said to call 936-788-5953 for more information from the local DARS group about the photos they are seeking. Questions, comments, and scanned photos can also e-mailed to Hoen at Neverforgotten@2014.com.

The plan is to display those photos on Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund website’s Faces of the Wall page and also with thousands of items at the new Education Center at the Wall Museum, adjacent to the Vietnam wall, once it opens.

Hoen anticipates breaking ground in the next two years, depending on financial support.

While the museum will include commemorations for multiple wars, at this time the program is focusing on Vietnam.

“We are focusing on Vietnam first because we are losing family members as we speak,” Hoen said. “Many of the parents and siblings of these young men have died now.”

Wars within the last decade often have photos that are readily available through social media. However, this wasn’t the case during Vietnam, Hoen said.

“All of the names are listed,” she said. “Their birth and death date, what rank and branch. Some of them we just don’t have their photos. Every single fallen hero had a photo… there is not a digital way to access these photos. If they are available we haven’t been able to find them.”

Yoder said DARS will do whatever they can to help Hoen find the photos.

Coming from a military family, she an avid supporter who remembers witnessing a Vietnam soldier in Delaware being spit on the 60’s.

Fifty years later she said she has seen a difference, and shared she even has witnessed person in Montgomery County walking up to a Vietnam Veteran wearing a hat and shaking their hands at the flea market.

“In the 60’s they treated our Vietnam vets like crap,” Yoder said. “They were treated horrible and didn’t deserve it. People want to make it right.”

“To me it is 50 years too late,” she added. “All of our military should be honored all of the time. That’s why we are involved in doing this.”

The chapter seeks to inspire and promote patriotism while educating and engaging in historic preservation by giving back to the community through volunteer activities and partnering with other organizations to aid active military personnel, veterans, and their families, its website said.